Mike Pence: I'd model my vice presidency after Dick Cheney

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said his vice presidential role model would be Dick Cheney.

"I frankly hold Dick Cheney in very high regard in his role as vice president," Pence said when asked in an interview with ABC that aired on Sunday who his vice presidential role model would be.

Donald Trump's running mate asserted that he would be "a very active vice president" like Cheney, who served under President George W. bush. The governor said that he respected how Cheney channeled his own experiences as a member of the House of Representatives to help push through pieces of legislation.

"What I admire most in vice presidents is when they're able to take the vision of the president and champion that vision on Capitol Hill," Pence said.

Cheney is largely regarded as one of the more powerful vice presidents in recent history. He played a prominent role in reshaping America's national security apparatus and foreign policy vision following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, but also fleshed out the details of many of Bush's domestic policy initiatives, occasionally without his knowledge.

Though a prominent voice in most high-level decisions, Cheney's role in the Bush administration diminished over the course of the eight years President Bush was in office.

Still, it's unclear whether many Americans feel positively about Cheney's tenure.

The last Gallup poll taken of Cheney's popularity in 2010 found that only 36% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Cheney, compared to 56% who held negative views of the former vice president. That was a slight improvement over the 30% of Americans who found him favorable two months after he left office.